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Subretinal hemorrhage should be treated quickly to prevent retinal necrosis
NEW YORK — Rapid necrosis of the retina occurs over thick subretinal hemorrhage, an animal study showed. Early displacement of the hemorrhage from the macula is needed to preserve function and prevent breakthrough, the study authors recommended. Results from the animal study correlated with a related human study, the authors noted.
Harvey Lincoff, MD, and colleagues at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Weill Medical Center simulated subretinal hemorrhage in a rabbit model by injecting autologous blood beneath the retina. At the first appearance of a cloud in the vitreous, vitrectomy was performed and the retina was searched for breaks. The authors also sampled the vitreous in patients undergoing vitrectomy to clear a cloudy vitreous due to subretinal hemorrhage.
No breaks were found in the living retina of the animal models or humans. Electron microscopy suggested that the erythrocytic fragments had migrated across the internal limiting membrane. The vitreous cloud in both rabbits and humans contained only fragments of erythrocytes.
The study is published in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.